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Serena Williams took a leaf out of Goran Ivanisevic’s book and created her own entry in the annals(年報)of the Australian Open on Saturday.
Croatian Ivanisevic turned out to be the poster-boy of all dreamers in the sport when he won the first prize in grasscourt tennis while ranked 125th in the world.
Williams copied Ivanisevic’s miraculous run to the 2001 Wimbledon title this past fourteen days in Melbourne, though if she had lived up to(證明與……等同)her ranking she would have been back home in Florida after the first round.
Instead the world number 81 announced her comeback to top flight tennis in the only manner she knows how, to make her way to an eighth grand slam(大滿貫)title.
“We all know I’m not really 81,”the American said following her 6-1 6-2 rout of top seed Maria Sharapova.
“It’s exciting for women’s tennis but I think it’s exciting that it’s Serena Williams and not just anyone else.”Because I’ve been number one before and I’ve won seven grand slams before today.Today it’s eight.It makes a difference, absolutely.
“It tells people you can’t sleep on anybody.They might not be here, or they might not be here for a couple of days but they come back and I’m here to stay.”
“M y best years are ahead of me.”
Before the final, Williams defeated the seeds of Mara Santangelo(27), Nadia Petrova(5), Serbian Jelena Jankovic(11), Shahar Peer(16)and Nicole Vaidisova(10).
On Saturday, she added world number one Sharapova to that list in what she described as“one of the best matches I’ve ever played”.
Already guaranteed to shoot up to 14th when the new rankings are released on Monday, Williams wasted no time in making her mind to be the number one ranking.
“I would love to be number one,”said the American after winning her third crown in Melbourne.
I think I played the best in this tournament and I played like the number one seed.
I’ve never been one to play 50 tournaments, 30 tournaments or even 20 tournaments.I always figured that if I play 12 to 15 tournaments and I win 10 of them, I’ll be fine.
“The year I was number one, that’s what I did.”
Williams’s 57-week reign as world number one ended in August 2003 and since then she has been hit by a series of injuries that often cut into her schedule.
Last year she played in only four tournaments and made her comeback from a four-month injury in a low-key tournament in Hobart earlier this month.
Having struggled there, she was only expected to make up the numbers at Melbourne Park.She had not won a title of any kind since winning her seventh major in Australia two years ago.
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